Main navigation

Are You Laughing at Me?

I guess someone thinks my tender, heartfelt sentiments are funny because I’m a finalist for a Blogs of Beauty Award in the Humor category. I really think I should have been nominated in the Best Special Effects category for my tinsel halo. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.

But now, I have a beet of a problemo and I may not be posting anything until after December le Sixth.

I have “The Twinge.”

This started years ago. I can never be funny on purpose, not really funny. I can tell jokes I’ve heard before just well enough to get a polite “heh heh” from my friends but when I try to be really funny, I can’t do it.

It can only happen by accident. Whenever I accidentally say or write something hilarious, I’m just as surprised as any of my teary-eyed chortling friends. That’s when it comes……”The Twinge.”

“The Twinge” is a feeling of sadness I get right after I’ve said something funny. The sadness stems from a fear that I will never be able to think of anything funny to say again, ever. You will notice this when we meet and hang out in the real world. Right after I make you laugh, a brief flash of sadness will cross my face and we will move on with the conversation.

This is a very real disease and I’m afraid that for the first time, I have “The Blogging Twinge.”

In the past, there has been no pressure to be funny. Sometimes, I’m downright morose but now with this BOB thing, I’m feelin’ it. I may never write anything funny again and I’m sorry Grandma or Uncle Billy or whoever nominated me. I don’t wanna let the family down. I just can’t perform under pressure.

My next post will be very, very depressing. (pst. I know this is true because I actually live in my life and I have the inside scoop. I am currently sitting in a very hip Urgent Care facility with a free wireless connection — details to follow. Don’t worry, it’s not the kids. Just me this time. Nothing’s actually wrong but the doc just mentioned something about a “special shoe.” If that’s not depressing, I don’t know what is.)

I undertand your “twinge”. I have a twinge as well. But it’s a different kind. (not enough time to explain)

It’s much like writers block. There are many ways to overcome writers block. I’m sure these techniques will work for your twinge. Just use your search engine to look up “writers block” or “how to overcome writers block”.

The best thing I can do is offer you encouragement. So just give it your best! The best you can do is good enough!

I don’t think anyone ever means to be funny. Just the other day my sister in law told my husband that she thought my blog for the family(with all the pictures) was really funny, and couldn’t believe I wrote the comments. Who knew? I wasn’t trying to be funny, just trying to explain the pics. (And by the way I think you are really funny;)

To use a quote from Sponge Bob, we’re not laughing *at* you; we’re laughing *next to* you.
I think I know the twinge. My brother has observed a similar phenomena in group settings:
Somebody in a group says something funny. We all have a good laugh. The laughter dies, we all wipe the tear from our eye, and everyone takes a drink from the glass in front of them. A collective sigh, an awkward silence, and we all stare at each other, wondering, “mmmm. what else is funny?” Except my brother, who says it out loud. Then we all laugh at him, and take another drink.

You not creative and funny? Whatever have you been smoking? You were funny before you hit 2 years old!

Are you not the same girl who made her brother “horkel” his dinner beverage out his nose every night of your senior year (and right at my table,too)?

It’s like breathing, Kathryn. You do it without thinking and if you think about it too hard, it ceases to be natural. The only times I’ve known your “gift” to dry up is when you’ve started worrying about it. So just relax already and it will be back as strong as ever.